11:07
by panda10bears
Summary: 11:07, 11/07, every year, without failure, like clockwork, you will be taken, you won't come back, don't have hope, it will kill you... This story is not exactly from red band society, but it is about hospitals and people with cancer and different illnesses. Please don't judge this book because of this. I hope you enjoy it.
1. Drained

**I am drained, drained of hope. Drained of laughter, drained of happiness, drained of all kinds of emotion. I feel nothing, I am nothing, so don't try and help.**

 **You might ask how, but the cause is unknown, just like most other things in my life. The only thing that is certain, is pain.**

 **This hospital has become my home, like many others before me, and many others after me. Like Abigail, she has** **Multiple sclerosis (MS), it is a disease which leaves your brain and spinal cord damaged. However, unlike me she has always stayed hopeful, even though she knows it is incurable.**

 **St Laurens could be seen as a sanctuary, a place of hope. But do you really know what goes on behind the doors? Do you know, the secret?**

 **11:07**

 **The day, the time, the place. Every single year. Year, after year, after year. Since the beginning, always the same, never a failure. The only thing that's different is the victim. Man, woman or child. Everyone gets a turn, there is no escape. But no one knows who will be next.**

 **Every day, at home your parents will tuck you in and say goodnight. But not for me, my parents never visit, as soon as I got admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with GBS, they have abandoned me. But anyway, they'll be no sleeping for tonight. Tonight, is the dreaded night, the 11** **th** **day of the 7** **th** **month. And 11:07 is just creeping nearer.**

 **In the dead of night, when all is dark, when nobody moves, but nobody sleeps. That's when they come.**

 **Everyone lies still, not daring to breathe, maybe if you're dead, they'll chose someone else, maybe they won't take you. It's been the same long before I came and will be the same long after I go. People wish to sleep, hoping the morning will come soon, but fear keeps everyone awake.**

 **The screams that pierce the morning air jolts exhausted patients out of a terrified trance, the sleepless night over, but signalling the beginning of a day of terror and years of grief. People run to the source of the screams. Always three. A doctor, a nurse and a friend. And this year, one of those three screams is mine.**

 **Her bed is empty, unmade and lonely. She is gone. Abigail, the girl whose smile could make my darkest days brighter, was gone. And so I ask myself the same question I have been asking myself all these years.**

 **Why?**


	2. No Return

No one ever comes back, not once they've been taken. Everyone gives up hope, so I guess that's why they do it. The 12th of the 7th, it starts at 12:07, so I guess you could call it creepy, the way that the time and day links and how it is so similar to the day that they go.

Black, everyone wears black. I used to give up hope too, but her smile has stuck and I will never rest until she is home. A funeral is a celebration of a life so I think it is just cruel to be celebrating a child's disappearance. They even prepare the funeral before they are gone. Everyone is ready. Only one outfit ever goes unworn. And this year, it's Abigail's.

Tears stream down my face as her portrait is placed with the countless others lining the meadow. Flowers surround her and it as if she is already gone.

Her bed is gone too; her room shall soon not be hers anymore. Just an empty space full of memories, a place that someone else will call theirs until they too are just a picture amongst the flowers in the meadow.

People say you never know who will be next, but I know. At least I hope. I hope that it is me.

That way the pain might end. It would if I was dead, and as everyone believes it, I think it's for the best. I will be with her, my soul in heaven, where the angels fold their wings and sleep. A place I can be happy, somewhere I can run, somewhere I can be free and never see a hospital's walls again, let alone call it my home.

Moving, that's what keeps the pain away, at least until the night comes. Walking, as much as I can, wishing my legs would work so that I could run. And once more the question that has haunted me since I was a baby. Why?

Reading could help, that's what they all say, writing, drawing, painting. But her face appears wherever I look and I have to turn away before the tears come. In the end, it is music that dries my tears. Her music. She would play piano, and sing, and her beautiful voice echoes through the corridors and comforts me. It is mostly memories, or sometimes the small pieces she has taught me that come first, and then a piece she wrote played by someone else, but it never seems to be the same.

Days pass by, then weeks and then months. An older girl has taken Abigail's room, she has a high fever, and even though I know it is mean of me, but I can't help thinking, every time I see her, I can't help thinking that Abigail should be standing in front of me. It should be Abigail's smile, Abigail's laugh, she doesn't deserve to be here, in her room, along this corridor, even in this building.


	3. Past, Present And Future

The disappearances started 67 years ago. The first victim was 10 year old, Madeline Thorn. She was diagnosed with terminal cancer when she was 8 and had been at the hospital ever since. There was nothing particularly extraordinary about Madeline, except for the fact that she had hope.

They say that every victim that has ever disappeared over the years has always remained hopeful in whatever situation they were in.

The next year, it was 27 year old Daniel West. He too had hope, even though he knew that his disease was incurable and would eventually kill him.

So now whenever a patient has hope, we all hold our breaths every 11th of the 7th.

Athena Waters. My name, it sounds so surreal whenever anybody says it, it sounds like the girl I used to be before I was confined to a wheelchair, when I was full of life and hope and happiness. Always running, playing, walking. How I wish I could go back to that Athena. But 10 years is a long time to wish and eventually you lose hope. I can't remember much about my life before the hospital, I guess 6 years isn't long enough to appreciate freedom when you have it. So be glad and live everyday like it's your last, because you never know what's around the corner.

But I should never have lost hope, because it's all about to change, and not having hope could kill you. But then again, hope is what brings us all together and hope is what pulls us all apart again. It makes us disappear and it makes people forget.


	4. Hope

A body. A body has been found. Two. One in the meadow and one in the woods. One on the 11th of the 7th and one on the 12th of the 7th. One girl, one boy. So old now that they are unrecognisable but everyone knows what they are. Victims…

Abigail could still be out there. Unlikely as it is, I must have hope. For the first time in 10 years, I am filled with hope.

Rumours. They spread like wildfire. The patients are finally being returned, but with a sickening twist. They won't be returned alive.

It is now up to me. I will find Abigail. Alive, before anyone can hurt her. And now, I have a weapon that I can use against those evil kidnapers. A spark among the darkness. Hope.


	5. The Dark Hour

It's gone quickly, hasn't it? A whole year. How I've survived without Abigail; I still don't know. But I will find her, because tonight is the night. Tonight, is the 11th of the 7th.

As always, we all hold our breaths as the hours and the minutes pass by and 11:07 creeps closer. However, now it's not fear that keeps me awake, it's hope, curiosity and a hunger for revenge.

And it's not just me. The usual fear and suspense is gone, replaced by a burning curiosity of who will be next and if more people will turn up dead. Every friend and family member of those who have been taken is holding their breath hoping that they will be taken too, so they can find them before they turn up the next day dead.

Sometimes, all we need is a spark of hope to cut through the fear.

So, here I lie in wait for the kidnappers to come. This year will it be me? I hope so because I am ready for them.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see my alarm clock on my bedside table change to 11:06. Any minute now, I will know if it will be me. And you could cut the tension with a knife.

There.

Movement. By my door. Hardly noticeable. But I know what I saw.

They are here.

Suddenly, a hand clamps down on my mouth and a needle goes into my arm. I go limp and everything is dark.

When I awaken, I am in a small, dark room lit by only a single candle. I am in my wheelchair. How they managed to take me and my wheelchair, I don't know.

Then, I see a shadow. A face. A body. And then I see her fully, standing in front of me.

Abigail.


	6. Lost And Found

I sit there, staring. As she comes closer, I recover over my shock and start crying and hugging her.

A few minutes later, a masked person unlocks the door and comes in. Roughly, he grabs us, pushes my wheelchair and drags Abigail and me into a dark, dirty corridor. Pushing us into a room that is already full to the bursting.

After he has relocked the door, I do a quick headcount. 68 years of kidnappings, and there are only 61 people in the room. Where are the rest?

2 were found dead last year on the 11th and 12th of July. Assuming that another was found dead today, there are still 4 missing victims.

"Who are the 4 victims missing?" I ask Abigail.

"Madeline Thorn, Daniel West, Elizabeth Song and Jacob Magna." She replies.

Where are they?

They were the first four victims. Madeline would be 78. Daniel would be 94. Elizabeth had terminal cancer and was taken when she was 20, she would be 86. Jacob Magna was perhaps the saddest case. He had cancer and was taken when he was 2. He had a type of cancer that was thought to be terminal but recent studies have found that it was never terminal and they have found a successful cure recently. He would be 67.

So, where were they? Where they dead or alive?


	7. Revealed

They had told us to sleep. But like everyone in the hospital, fear kept us all awake.

There was a scream.

Then silence.

And then darkness.

My eyes flickered open and I could see instantly that something was wrong. A woman was sitting on her knees sobbing, a handkerchief in her hand.

"She's gone, she's gone", She said

They had taken someone else. 61 victims known to be alive, and they are dying with every year that passes.

And even though every one of the victims in the room was once filled with hope, the life has been drained from them all and there is only the will to be dead.

So once again, a year passes in the blink of an eye and the 11th of the 7th is all too near.

They tell us to sleep, but everyone is kept awake by fear. Again.

And again there is a scream.

Again there is silence.

Again there is only darkness.

She's gone.

The one person who filled me with hope, the person who could brighten my darkest days. Is gone.

And this time, I know there is no hope of her coming back.

Abigail is dead.

Although, 60 has become 59 overnight, the appearance of a fresh victim who is filled with hope has caused quite a stir.

The worse thing is that I know that I am next.

The waiting is the worst. The fact that I know that I am next is awful. There is no way to count the seconds, minutes and hours.

They tell everyone to sleep. I don't.

A while later, the scream is mine and then everything is black.

I awaken to a blinding light being shined in my face. A masked man. At least I assume that it's a man.

Taking a deep breath, I ask shakily, "Who are you? Why am I here?"

Then he begins to speak in a deep and raspy voice, as if he is quite old.

"I am Jacob Magna. I assume that you know of me. I was 2 when I ran away from the hospital. I am going to tell you why you are here but first let me tell you why I am here, for inspiration. I am here because I had cancer. I stole the cure from the hospital one night. They lied to me. I was told it was terminal, that there was no cure. There were four of us. Madeline, Daniel, Elizabeth and me. We ran away. One per year, always on the same day. We took one patient every 11th of the 7th to give them another life. Some accepted. Others didn't, such as those two patients that you found last year. Every year, we also offer one patient a special chance. To join a cause worth fighting for."

"And what is that cause?"

"Revenge against the hospital"

"Why? It's not like they've done anything wrong, they are trying to cure us, if you hadn't taken me, I might be able to walk in a year or so"

"They lied to you, you can never be cured. Not by them, so join us"

"Us? You mean you, not us. Never us"

"I am surprised by you, she told me you were clever, she told me you would be the first to agree"

"Who?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"Me" said a familiar voice, and someone stepped out of the shadows and into the light.

She took of her mask and placed it on the table.

She was the only one that I was sure of. I trusted her. But I was wrong.

"Abigail."


	8. Taking Turns

"I'm sorry." she replied, "It's just the way things go"

"No, no it's not." I said, the anger building up inside me. "It's just cruel, I trusted you."

"And you still can, join us."

"No, no more you and me, I could never be friends with a traitor that wants to destroy the only people in the world who are trying to help."

"If that's what you truly believe, then we cannot change your mind." Jacob spoke in a cool and calm voice, "They will take you now"

A door creaked open behind me and a man grabbed the handles of my wheelchair and started pulling me away.

"There is still time to change your mind." Abigail screamed as I was rolled out of the room.

"Well then I hope you see the truth", I whispered, tears rolling down my cheeks, as the door slammed shut behind me.

I was going to die. This was it. The end.

The man brought my wheelchair to a halt and brought a gun to my head.

Just as he was about to pull the trigger, a voice shouted out. A bloodcurdling scream of panic, of friendship, of death and I was pushed out of the way. I fell out of my wheelchair and to the ground.

The gun went off and a body fell to the floor.

The body of a girl that in a matter of minutes had gone from my spark of hope, to my friend, to my betrayer.

Abigail.


	9. Believe

All I could feel was anger. I pushed myself back into my wheelchair as I had done so many times at the hospital and rolled myself to the door to the room where all the patients that had been kidnapped waited. Before the man with the gun could react, I unlocked it with the key that had been left in the keyhole and opened it. In a wave of clothes and colours, the victims charge out of this horrid place and into the corridor. As one, they charged at the man with the gun, who was standing there, staring. After he was unconscious, they ran into the room that Jacob was in and started attacking him.

While they attacked him, I got back out of my wheelchair and lay on the floor next to Abigail.

She was gone. Her body is limp and she had blood in her hair. Tears, hot and full of sadness, roll down my cheeks. Her eyes are glassy and open. Gently, I close them so that she can rest peacefully. She's gone.

What do I do without her? How do I carry on? How do I have hope when my spark has died along with Abigail. She was the only person that mattered in my life. My father left my mum after I was born and my mother died of depression after he left and I was diagnosed.

Abigail is among the angels now. I always knew that she belonged with them, for a spark that bright, that influenced so many people, was not meant to last…


	10. Bitter Sweet

It was over. All my fear, all my hate, all my anger. It wasn't needed anymore, so I just lay there, holding her in my arms wishing she could hold me back.

I felt someone brush against my arm and a boy gently detached my arms from around her and picked me up, carrying me out of the room.

"She's gone", he whispered softly, and I let my tears roll freely down my cheeks as we disappeared into the darkness.

We were at a celebration. A celebration of the life of Abigail Murphy. A loving friend and daughter, that never gave up hope. Always believe.

The people were dancing around me; the music was soft but loud and there were too many faces to remember all the names.

The noise in my head was incredibly loud, I just wish they would all stop. All the dancing, all the music, all the crowds would stop, just for once. Then the noise became anger and the anger was light and it was burning inside me. The heat, the shouting, my heart was pounding, and my eyes were burning. And suddenly, everything was quiet.

Then there was only darkness.

And the question I kept asking myself over the years was finally answered.

Why?


End file.
